"Olive Tree" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Peter Gabriel | ||||
from the album I/O | ||||
Released |
| |||
Studio |
| |||
Genre | Alternative rock | |||
Length | 5:59 | |||
Label |
| |||
Songwriter(s) | Peter Gabriel | |||
Producer(s) | Peter Gabriel | |||
Peter Gabriel singles chronology | ||||
|
"Olive Tree" is a song by English musician Peter Gabriel, released in August 2023 as the eighth single in promotion of his tenth studio album I/O . Since August has a blue moon, this is the first of two tracks that was released in August, the other being "Love Can Heal". The track has been described by Louder as "uptempo" and "jaunty". [1] Gabriel said of the song, "I wanted it to have some speed to it but I also wanted some mystery, too. I think it is a celebration in a way and there's a real sense of being alive." [2]
Similar to the title track, "I/O", Olive Tree is about being "plugged into nature and other minds". [3] Gabriel said that the song's message is about being "connected". [2] He said that we are too often self-centered, when "we only want to see and listen to the things that seem important and relevant to us and shut out the noise of everything else." [4] The narrative of the song is about being attuned to others' thoughts, which is expressed in Gabriel's hope that "we're no longer these islands that have our own private thoughts." [2] [5] [6]
This song is "also part of a separate brain-related project" that Gabriel is "currently working on". [2] [6]
The cover artwork was created by Barthélémy Toguo and titled Chroniques avec la Nature. Unlike most of the other artwork for i/o, this cover art is an original piece, created specifically for this track. [2]
Orchestra
Chart (2023) | Peak position |
---|---|
UK Singles Downloads (OCC) [7] | 78 |
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched a successful solo career with "Solsbury Hill" as his first single. His fifth studio album, So (1986), is his best-selling release and is certified triple platinum in the UK and five times platinum in the US. The album's most successful single, "Sledgehammer", won a record nine MTV Awards at the 1987 MTV Video Music Awards and, according to a report in 2011, it was MTV's most played music video of all time.
Anthony George Banks is an English musician, songwriter, singer and film composer primarily known as the keyboardist and founding member of the rock band Genesis. Banks is also a prolific solo artist, releasing six solo studio albums that range through progressive rock, pop, and classical music.
Stuart Oliver Knussen was a British composer and conductor.
The Tanglewood Festival Chorus, directed by James Burton, is a chorus which performs with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops in major choral works. The Tanglewood Festival Chorus (TFC) was organized in the spring of 1970, when founding conductor John Oliver became director of vocal and choral activities at the Tanglewood Music Center, the summer home of the BSO. Originally formed for performances at the BSO's summer home at the behest of the BSO's conductor designate Seiji Ozawa, the Tanglewood Festival Chorus is the official chorus of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops Orchestra year-round, performing in Boston, New York and Tanglewood.
Up is the seventh studio and thirteenth album overall by the English rock musician Peter Gabriel, released on 23 September 2002 through Geffen and Real World Records. The album rose to number 9 in the US, number 11 in the UK, and captured the number 1 position in Italy. Most critics reviewed it positively, though Rolling Stone said Gabriel was "out of touch". This would be Gabriel's last studio album of new original material for 21 years until the release of I/O (2023), although he did release several studio projects in the interim.
Magnification is the nineteenth studio album by the English progressive rock band Yes, released on 10 September 2001 by Eagle Records. It is their only album recorded as a four-piece band, and their final album to feature founding member Jon Anderson on vocals. At the departure of keyboardist Igor Khoroshev in 2000, the band agreed to record a new studio album with orchestral arrangements, something they had not done since their second album, Time and a Word in 1970. The album was recorded and mixed using Pro Tools with producer Tim Weidner and orchestral arrangements by Larry Groupé conducting the San Diego Symphony Orchestra. Drummer Alan White plays piano on some tracks.
Travelogue is a 2002 double album by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell featuring orchestral re-recordings of songs from throughout her career. It is her 18th studio album and is the follow-up to 2000's Both Sides Now which had a similar format. Upon release Mitchell announced that it would be her last album, but later recorded one further studio album, Shine.
Scratch My Back is the eighth studio album by English musician Peter Gabriel, his first in eight years. It was released in February 2010. The album, recorded at AIR Lyndhurst and Real World Studios during 2009, consists of cover versions of twelve songs by various artists, using only orchestra and voice. It is produced by Gabriel with Bob Ezrin.
New Blood is the ninth studio album by the English rock musician Peter Gabriel, released on 10 October 2011. The album consists of orchestral re-recordings of various tracks from Gabriel's career.
"Panopticom" is a song by English musician Peter Gabriel, released in January 2023 as the first single in promotion of his tenth studio album I/O, his first album of original material since 2002's Up. Two versions of the song have been released: the "Bright Side Mix" on 6 January 2023, and the "Dark Side Mix" on 21 January. The cover features David Spriggs' Red Gravity as the cover art. The single was released on the first full moon of the year.
"The Court" is a song by English musician Peter Gabriel. A version of the song mixed by Tchad Blake, titled the "Dark-Side Mix", was released on 5 February 2023. Much like "Panopticom", the single's release date was chosen to coincide with a full moon. The song's "free-form, impressionistic lyric that connected to justice" concerns the balance between the necessity of the legal system and the abuse of power that happens within it. The song was partially inspired by the work of NAMATI, a charity "dedicated to putting the power of law in the hands of people."
I/O is the tenth studio album by English singer-songwriter and musician Peter Gabriel, released on 1 December 2023 through Real World Records. It is Gabriel's first album of new original material in over 21 years since Up (2002), marking the longest gap between two studio albums in his solo career. I/O features 12 tracks, each with two different mixes labeled the "Bright-Side Mix" and "Dark-Side Mix". It is also Gabriel's longest studio album, with both mixes each clocking in at over 68 minutes and the total project lasting over two hours. An additional "In-Side Mix" of the album is available on versions which include the Blu-ray audio disc.
"Playing for Time" is a song by English musician Peter Gabriel, released in March 2023 as the third single in promotion of his tenth studio album I/O. This is his first album of original material since 2002's Up. Two versions of the song have been released: the "Bright Side Mix" and the "Dark Side Mix". The cover art for this track features Annette Messager's Mes voeux . Recorded at Gabriel's Real World Studios in Wiltshire and the Beehive and British Grove Studios in London, "Playing For Time" features regulars Tony Levin on bass and Manu Katché on drums. The single was released on March 7 and the full moon, called the Worm Moon.
"Four Kinds of Horses" is a song by English musician Peter Gabriel, released in May 2023 as the fifth single in promotion of his tenth studio album I/O. The track has been described by Rolling Stone as atmospheric, swirling, and sparkling. The cover artwork was done by Cornelia Parker.
"Road to Joy" is a song by English musician Peter Gabriel, released in June 2023 as the sixth single in promotion of his tenth studio album I/O. The track is one of the last tracks to emerge for the album, it had originally been conceived around 2000's OVO called "Pukka", albeit sounding very different to the final rendition of the track. The track was produced by Gabriel and English musician Brian Eno, and features Tony Levin on bass, Manu Katché on drums, John Metcalfe on string arrangements, and the Soweto Gospel Choir.
"So Much" is a song by English musician Peter Gabriel, released in July 2023 as the seventh single in promotion of his tenth studio album I/O. Gabriel described "So Much" as a "simple song" that was "easy to digest but still had a bit of character to it". He claimed in the Full Moon Update that the song was a bit polarizing, that "it will split an audience" "about 50/50" with those who love it and those who don't care for it. According to Gabriel, Tchad Blake called it "the best thing that he has ever done." Gabriel said that the song is about "mortality" and "getting old".
"Love Can Heal" is a song by English musician Peter Gabriel, released on 31 August 2023 as the ninth single in promotion of his tenth studio album I/O. Due to August having a blue moon, this was the second of two tracks to be released in August alongside "Olive Tree". According to Gabriel, the track is a "dreamy, experiential piece with some abstract imagery" and "a carpet of sound, a tapestry where things are woven together, but not necessarily supposed to stick out, but just form part of a whole".
"And Still" is a song by English musician Peter Gabriel, initially released on 28 October 2023 as the eleventh single in promotion of his tenth studio album I/O. It is the longest track on the album, clocking in at nearly eight minutes.
"This Is Home" is a song by English musician Peter Gabriel, released on 29 September 2023 as the tenth single in promotion of his tenth studio album I/O. According to Gabriel, the track is a "love song", and "began with inspiration from some of the great Tamla Motown rhythm sections so we're trying to recreate that in a modern way, complete with the tambourine and handclaps".
"Live and Let Live" is a song by English musician Peter Gabriel, first released on 27 November 2023 as the final single released in promotion of his tenth studio album I/O, four days before the record's release. It is the final track on the record; the dark-side and in-side mixes of the track are also extended by an additional 25 seconds. The artwork for the single was designed by Nick Cave with his piece "Soundsuit".